Contentions

Dionneland is a special place — liberals are always in the ascendancy, conservatives are always in disarray, and the voters are brilliant, as long as they don’t follow those wily conservatives (who, despite their disarray, are a menace to all that is good and decent). You think I exaggerate? Read E.J. Dionne’s latest offering, which must have been written in a windowless room with no connectivity to the outside world. Because as Democratic pollsters and analysts come to terms with the deluge, Dionne chirps:

Already, Republicans who won primaries with Tea Party backing — notably Senate candidates Sharron Angle in Nevada and Rand Paul in Kentucky — are facing withering Democratic attacks. The question is whether such critiques work only against marquee right-wing candidates or whether the entire Republican Party comes to be seen as moving too far away from the views of what is still a moderate country.

The paradox is that a Republican Party in the grips of ideology needs to shift the campaign in a less ideological direction, hoping that voters simply cast protest ballots against hard economic times.

Needs to shift? But they are winning — by a lot. No, never mind that. Dionne continues:

Democrats, who are more doctrinally diverse, have every interest in turning the election into a philosophical contest, arguing that even unhappy voters cannot trust their fate to a party in the grips of a right-wing revolt. Once again on Tuesday, Republican primary participants seemed determined to give Democrats that opportunity.

This is simply unintelligible. If the Democrats are so doctrinally diverse: (1) why are they in trouble for voting lockstep with the ultra-liberal Obama agenda, and (2) why would such a heterogeneous gang want to make it a philosophical contest? (What — conservative Republicans vs. “all over the map” Democrats?) But never fear, Republicans are determined to give Democrats the opportunity to … er … do what? Ah, test whether a right-wing revolt (which includes a large segment of disaffected independents) can stymie the Obama administration? Oh, well, game on!